[mhays]

Here's a little fodder: A 30-year mortgage at 10% will cost twice as much per month as the same mortgage at 2.0%. At 17% it'll cost three times as much (during a chunk of the early 80s).

That's a decent chunk of the high prices that were common before the recent rate increases, and a big reason for the low prices long ago. Even though most people got the high twos, not two flat.